June-Lucky You!!! I wish those were growing in my yard.It is strange that there is more than one kind of gourd growing from the same vine.Did you plant more than one seed? Could the seeds possibly have been from more than one kind of gourd and somehow ended up in that gourd? Of course I'm no authority on the growing phase of gourds so this may be natural.
From what I understand you shouldn't cover the vines with anything.Just let them die back as they normally would.Then after the vines are completely dead you could cover the frame as you normally do for the winter.I would just leave the gourds hanging as they are after the vines die back and let them dry there as long as they have plenty of air circulation.
Good luck with them.I hope they all dry for you.Do you want to sell some of them when they are dry? I would be interested in purchasing some..............Lillie

Hi Lillie--I didn't say it clearly...there are 3 vines (each seed came from the same "mother"). Each vine produces a different kind of gourd, but the gourds on each vine are the same. They just have mixed ancestory--the pollen that produced each seed came from a different "father". I have "mutt gourds".

The reason I am about ready to cover the gourds is not to protect them, but rather to protect my delicate plants growing underneath. It will probably be another 2 weeks before I do anything--we normally don't get a first frost before Nov. Most of the gourd leaves are dead now--I will give them as long as I can. There will be plenty of air flow. I need to take some new pictures.

I don't need any of the gourds for myself...I am absolutely certain there isn't an ounce of artist in me. I just like to grow things. I have dried gourds before, but don't know anything about marketing or shipping. Maybe somebody can give me pointers.

~June

June, don't sell yourself short on the artistic talent...I sold paintings for 9 years, thinking that was as close as I dare get to the world of art. When dh ended up with 350 gourds from one packet of seed, and I could no longer handle the large cases of paintings, I woodburned my first gourd. Now, I'll woodburn gourds any chance I get.
Just remember, you've got lots of gourds to practice on...you'll find your niche!

You won't know if you don't try!

Jan

wow!!!!What great fencing you have to grow the gourds. I just don't have the space. Very jealous. Lynne

Here is a link that might be useful: my southwest gourd art

June, .....just to clarify my previous post: I sold other peoples paintings for nine years for an 'in-home art show company' .....

Jan

June.....I knew nothing about gourd art until about 2 years ago.Someone had given my mother a couple of gourds years ago.She was always going to "do something" with them but never did.When we cleaned out her home 5 years ago I ran across them and stuck them back with intentions of "doing something" with them.LOL I have done lots of painting with oils and watercolors in the past and do all kinds of crafts.Anyway,I finally got them out and made bird houses out of them.I paint country scenes, flowers,
butterflies and just about anything that anyone wants on them with acrylics.I immediately sold those two and began looking for more,which I found on E-bay.I started researching and found all kinds of things to do with them and was hooked!As everyone else has said,don't sell yourself short.You never know what you can do until you try and if you mess up you have lots more gourds to work with!Right now I am working on a fountain made from a very large kettle gourd.Just experiment and have fun with them.I guarantee your life will never be the same!
I'm posting the link to my gourds.I hope it works.All of the ones in the pictures have been sold,plus I have probably done over a hundred more since.....Lillie

Here is a link that might be useful: My Gourds

Wow!!! Thanks everyone for such encouraging words. Everyone's work is SO BEAUTIFUL...and everything so different, too...some painted, some burned...I will really give this some thought. (I STILL say I am NOT artistic.) I don't think my gourds will be dry enough to do anything with for at least a couple more months. I will really be doing some looking, reading and thinking during that time.

~June

i really like how your gourds grew on the coldframe. seems to me like double duty. i, too, wish i had the room, as that is a nice setup.
i plan on copying the one fella whose gourds grew up the telephone pole. i have warned the neighbors, and they are all for it. :)
jennifer

That's a really unique and great way to grow the gourds! I love the looks of it. Great job!

June, don't worry about the artistic aspect to gourd crafting. You can simply stain them using leather dye, shoe polish, acrylic paint, etc, decoupage on them, cover them with wadded up brown paper bags and color over the paper then you will have a leather look, use gold foil over a acrylic base coat, woodburn them, you can trace picture from books and then color with pastel pens, etc. After working with a gourd or two you will see possibilities that you never would have thought of and find some artistic ability you never knew you had. Try it, you'll like it.

hi june,
can you tell me how you got your picture up? when i make a new post, the link boxes are not there. any help will be appreciated.
thanks,
jennifer

Jennifer--go to the link below--sign up (free) and follow their instructions for adding a photo (or photos) then link it to this site.
June

Here is a link that might be useful: photobucket

june, thank you!
i couldnt do photobucket. so i finally got yahoo to work (i think). so check out my first ever gourd crop. :)
jennifer

NICE!!!!!!